Monday, November 24, 2008

Hirano Aya brought her four-stop Riot Tour to a close the weekend before last, with performances in Osaka and her hometown of Yokohama.

The Yokohama concert was the highlight of the tour. Aya was at her best, and brought the house down with a tearful salute to her parents and her fans. This performance will be the basis of a DVD, which will probably come out early next year.

The weekend got off to a rocky start. Aya had a cold for her concert in Osaka, and the concert itself was marred by a group of anti-Aya rabble hurling insults from the balcony. Aya made no mention of the affair in her blog, but just commented on the large crowd of 1800 fans.

Here are some pics from the Osaka concert, two of the concert itself; and two of Aya, one showing the limited edition T-shirt that was on sale, and one of an exhausted Aya after the show:

In Yokohama, Aya spoke at length. She mentioned the time in the fall 0f 2006 when she collapsed during a Death Note recording session and was taken to hospital. She said that when she thinks of all the support she got at the time, she is so grateful she feels like crying. She said that now that the live tour she had dreamed of for so long had become a reality, she expected to cry from happiness, but was surprised that she was taking it all so stoically.

"I've changed a lot in the past two years. Not just outside, but inside, too. But ever since I started working, when I was ten, I have had confidence, and that hasn't changed."

Here are some pics from Yokohama: Aya and her band, Aya ready to go (looking a bit tired and apprehensive, to me), and a couple of shots from the concert:

"This is the first time I have had enough confidence to speak to my parents from the stage. I'm glad to finally have a chance to pay them back in some way."

"I really can't pay all you fans back, no matter how hard I try. I have had failures, and I apologize to you deeply (bowing to the fans, she began to weep). I really love being able to be here with all of you. There is so much I want to say...."

A poster on 2channel said that she conveyed a lot of love in her statement, saying directly to fans that she would work hard never to betray their expectations. She gave the impression that she was afraid of ever alienating her fans.

Here are two more shots from Yokohama. For the second, Aya said the fasteners on her dress came apart, proving that she has gained weight:

Another poster said that the Shibuya concert was good, but Yokohama was more exciting. There was a bit of trouble in Osaka, but everyone in Yokohama was determined to support her, and you could feel the mood throughout the audience. And Aya herself really seemed in her element on stage, in a way she didn't in Shibuya.

As promised, she cried during her talk. When she had trouble speaking, cries of "Aaya" rang out from the crowd. The encores were the weakest part of the show, but the chorus of "Aaya" from the audience afterward were amazing, he/she said.

I'm so happy that Aya's tour was such a success :D!Only downfall were those anti-aya's at osaka :( booThis is why I love and respect Aya so much. She works hard, loves her fans and says meaningful, deep things from the bottom of her heart."When she had trouble speaking, cries of "Aaya" rang out from the crowd." - that is soooo touching, i would cry too.So glad to see that so many ppl support her and that she'll continue to do her best :D!banzai aya~!

Hashihime

The "Hashihime" or "Bridge Princesses," are characters in the novel The Tale of Genji (Genji Monogatari 源氏物語）. They are daughters of a disgraced prince, living alone with him in a small house at Uji, outside Kyoto. They are important characters in the last ten chapters of the novel.

The Genji can be considered the first real novel in the history of the world. It was written around 1000 AD by a Japanese court lady known as Lady Murasaki, or Murasaki Shikibu.

I think contemporary Japanese literature, including anime and manga, continues to preserve aspects of the Genji, among them sensitive psychological observation, a general passion for romance, and romantic interest in young girls. The main hero of the thousand-page novel, Prince Genji, had a number of present and former girlfriends living in his palace, and basically abducted his principal wife Murasaki when she was ten, marrying her when she was around 15.

notes

-- all Japanese names are written in Japanese order: surname first, given name second-- I claim no copyright on anything in this blog, unless otherwise stated